The Dangerous Life II
by Fabricationary
Summary: Sequel to The Dangerous Life.  Kim starts her new life, but Global Justice is still pursuing her  and that's not her only problem.  What's an exteen heroine to do?  And how did Ron end up on reality TV?  Still skirting the fine line between KiRonKiGo...
1. Chapter 1

_Note: If you haven't read the previous story, "The Dangerous Life" (link in my profile), this probably won't make much sense. So go read that one first!_

It was the first week of September, and the weather was gorgeous. On this particular day, the city was vibrant with activity, from couples strolling under stone arches to children tugging at their parents' sleeves for money to buy a chocolate to street vendors hoping to sell their hand-made crafts. As Kim drove her silver Vespa through the antiquated streets, her stomach turned in nervous anticipation of the day to come. It was weird, but situations like this always got to her a lot more than her "hero missions" back in the day, or even the sitch a few months ago that ended with a panicked getaway in Northern Alaska.

Kim finally arrived at her destination and parked the Vespa. After adjusting the straps on her shoulder bag and taking a moment to consult her map, she slowly walked inside the stone building where new students were gathering to pick up their class schedules.

"Bienvenudos a la Universitat de Barcelona," a student worker at the front booth said, smiling brightly. "E cual es su nombre?"

"Uh…" Kim stuttered. She had taken a crash course in Spanish in the last few months, but she wasn't quite sure that she could handle a full curriculum of classes taught in Spanish, much less hold a short conversation in Spanish. "Mi nombre es…Ki…Amanda. Sí, Amanda Harding."

Kim was handed a thick packet of papers with a sheet marked _orario_ on the top. Kim was pretty sure that meant "schedule," but it wasn't like she could consult her dictionary now, in front of all these people (how embarrassing).

As Kim consulted her map trying to find the building listed under the first schedule entry, she heard a very comforting sound behind her – people speaking English. She brightened and turned around, figuring it'd be advantageous to befriend all the English-speakers she could find.

Kim's jaw dropped when she saw the speakers. "No, this is so not happening," she thought to herself. Then she immediately ducked for cover. She couldn't let herself be seen. This was bad. This was _very_ bad.

Apparently Bonnie Rockwaller had decided to take a semester abroad (Kim hoped it was only that) in Barcelona, too.

----

Ron was adjusting to European life quite well. Unlike Kim, he had taken to Spanish like a naked mole rat to nacos – it was probably all those years of practically living at Bueno Nacho.

On Kim's first day of college, Ron was wandering around downtown Barcelona when he and Rufus got a whiff of something that smelled very similar to the pleasant aroma of Bueno Nacho. Ron had been Bueno Nacho-less for several months, so he giddily followed the smell down the street and into a large restaurant, where a large crowd of people were gathered in what seemed to be a humungous line.

Ron, with Rufus hanging onto Ron's cargo pant pocket, tried to evade the line to get closer to the smell. Both Ron and rat were bewildered to see a conglomerate of cameras mounted on tripods, cameramen, microphones, and ultra-bright stage lights focused on a kitchen area where a middle-aged man was cooking something that smelled delicious.

A loud buzzer sounded, and the man started fussing that he wasn't ready yet. The cameramen shifted their focus to a short, angry looking man who rushed onto the kitchen set, stuck a fork of the food that been prepared into his mouth, and immediately threw the platter into the flustered cook's face.

"This is shit! Absolute, utter shit! Get the fuck out of my kitchen!" To prove his point, the man angrily shoved all the pots and pans on the counter to the floor with a resonating clang. Off-camera, a producer chuckled and gave a thumbs-up to a director across the room.

Ron, intimidated by the yelling, started edging his way backwards when he was spotted by the angry man walking off the set.

"You, get up there!"

"But…"

Ron was dragged over to the kitchen set by one of the producers. Blinded by the bright lights, he was still dazed when the cameras started rolling and someone shouted that he had twenty minutes to cook.

Ron decided to be true to his essential Ron-ness. He shrugged and began cooking his signature soufflé. Twenty minutes later, Ron took the perfectly-cooked finished product out of the oven just as the obnoxious buzzer sounded. The angry man returned to the set, stuck his fork in the soufflé to taste it, and motioned to the producers. "He'll do."

"Huh, do what? Could someone tell me what's going on? Where's the BN snackage I've been smelling?"

The producer ignored his questions, herding him off to a nondescript van in the back of the building. As Ron was being escorted off, he heard another producer tell the impatient line of people that the audition was over.

"Audition?"

The producer smirked at him. "Yeah, you're replacing that crazy dude who failed the psychiatric evaluation. Good think Ramley finally approved of a replacement – we start filming today."

Rufus poked his head out of Ron's pocket, confused. Ron gave him an equally confused look.

After a brief pause, Ron asked, "So there was no Bueno Nacho food?"

The producer smiled. "Oh, that," she laughed. "Here, I'll get you some, just sign these papers for me." She handed Ron a fat stack of typewritten sheets and a pen before heading off into an interior room. The pleasant smells of nacos emerged as the producer brought out a large back of BN takeout.

Ron and Rufus were beside themselves with glee, but the producer kept dangling the bag just out of Ron's reach until after he finished signing the papers. Bag in hand, Ron blindly got into an unmarked minivan in the restaurant parking lot.

When Ron emerged from Bueno Nacho bliss twenty minutes later, he was being escorted into a dorm-style house enclosed by a tall fence. Immediately after he was let in, the fence gate was padlocked behind him, and cameras began filming him.

Ron had unwittingly become a contestant on the international version of Hell's Kitchen.

----

On the other side of the Atlantic, Shego made her way through Drakken's last known lair. There were no lights on anywhere. Shego muttered something under her breath about her employer being so helpless that he couldn't pay the electric bill without her.

"Yo, Dr. D., I'm ba-ack!"

Nothing.

"Ya know, Dr. D., I'm still waiting on my last paycheck. You better not say it got lost in the mail…."

Still nothing.

Shego was growing more annoyed by the second. She flexed her fingers, green plasma bursting from her hands.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her…and in front of her…and to each side. Strobe lights blinded her momentarily. Shego went into attack mode, executing a roundhouse kick that cleared her way to escape.

But there were just too many of them. Shego was soon outnumbered and forced onto the floor, held down by at least three men in uniforms. A strobe light was flashed in her face.

Shego squinted upwards. "If Jack Hench sent you, get lost. Like I told you at least ten other times, the case with you all and Dr. D. and the 'borrowed' weather machine is getting settled in court. I ain't saying anything until my lawyer is around."

"What was that?" An intimidating female figure loomed down on Shego, her silhouette reflected and magnified on the lair walls.

"Betty Director," Shego hissed.

"I'll skip the niceties and cut to the chase. Where is Possible?"

"Kimmie? Your guess is as good as mine."

"Don't play dumb with me, Shego. I witnessed you two running off together a few months ago. It's obvious you're _involved_ with her."

Shego coughed. "I don't know what you mean, and I haven't seen her since then. Like I already said, I don't know where she is."

The strobe was flashing in Shego's eyes with such intensity that shutting her eyes didn't help stop the throbbing in her head.

Dr. Director motioned to the agent beside her, who swiftly took out a syringe loaded with a colorless liquid and injected it into the back of Shego's neck. Shego was out cold instantly.

"Good work, agents. Let's grab her and get back to headquarters."

Dr. Director smiled to herself. Everything was going as planned.

_A/N: That's all for now - thanks for reading! I would really appreciate general reviews/feedback/suggestions on where to take this…I don't have any more of this story written (though I've got a rough idea for the events in the next chapter, where the plot should fully kick in), so I will consider anything you suggest in reviews or PMs. So let me know what you think about:_

_- whether Bonnie should have a role in this story, or just a few passing mentions_

_- whether Dr. Drakken should return, and if so, in what capacity (for comic relief or to have a major role in the plot)_

_- whether other KP characters/villains should be introduced...obviously with Bonnie around, I'll probably bring in one or both of the Seniors, but not that much, since I find them somewhat annoying._

_- whether Kim should lay low or turn villain (since "hero" is no longer an option)_

_- how Ron will fare on reality TV/cope with being filmed all the time – will he thrive, or crack under the pressure? (Don't worry…Ron will make his escape/be kicked out of the competition before too much action happens ;).)_

_- what's really going on with the Kim/Ron/Shego relationship triangle (Ha, I managed to write another chapter and still not directly address it! I'll have to soon…)_

_Be aware, though, that it might take quite a while for this story to be written and posted, but I will complete this (eventually…)!_


	2. Chapter 2

When Shego came to, she felt dazed and had a horrible headache. She tried to remember the events of the night before…she hoped she hadn't been out at Club V again. The last time she went there, she had woken up the next morning with the mother of all hangovers and in bed with two…

Her groggy train of thought was interrupted by the door cracking open and bright light flooding in. Shego remembered what happened before she was knocked out and started berating herself for setting herself up to get caught so easily. She tried to sit up, only to find that she was tied to her seat. A little plasma should take care of that, but not now…

For the second time in less than a day, Dr. Director's shadow loomed overheard. Unlike Kim, Shego wasn't intimidated by Global Justice flaunting its authority

"To what do I owe this great honor?" Shego groaned, rolling her eyes at GJ's one-eyed director.

Dr. Director was not impressed. She crossed her arms and glared at Shego.

"Stop pretending you don't know why you're here. We've known each other far too long, _Sheila_, to waste time on these petty games."

"Well, _Betty,_ even if I knew what you wanted to know, I wouldn't help you."

Dr. Director leaned in closer. "You know Shego, when I first met Kimberley, she reminded me of you – the way you used to be when you were on the right track. But the more I got to know her – or, should I say, the longer she was around you – she became more and more ruthless, brash, and headstrong. She's worthless to me now as an agent, largely thanks to you."

Shego wished she had a nail file or a magazine lying around so that she could exaggerate her current state of apathy. Or at least get Dr. Director more than a foot away from her face.

"And then," Dr. Director continued, "Instead of letting Kim go back to her normal life after her tenure as a hero had expired, you turned her into a criminal."

"Helloo-oo, that wasn't me. That was all thanks to those Gables…and you and your worthless organization did nothing to stop them as they completely ripped away Kimmie's life."

Dr. Director glowered. "Well, what's passed is passed. But Kimberley wouldn't have been able to become an internationally-wanted criminal if not for your intervention."

"Yada yada yada. Just throw me in prison or something and call it even." Shego wanted this discussion to be over. She figured she could either break herself out of prison or call on a favor to bust her out, so that would be no big.

Dr. Director shook her head. Shego was beginning to think the one-eyed woman had really lost it.

"No, Sheila, I'm here to offer you a deal. In exchange for reliable information on Kim Possible's current location, you will receive complete amnesty for all your criminal activities of the past ten years in the United States. And a command-level position at Global Justice, should you choose to accept it."

Shego snorted. Yep, Dr. Director was really over the deep end.

"What, what's so funny?"

It took quite an effort to stop laughing to give her answer. Shego finally managed to say, "So this is what I get for sleeping with the boss, huh? So if I accept, does that mean we're back on?"

Dr. Director struggled to maintain her cool. "Shego…Sheila…our relationship…er, what happened between us is in the past. My motivation for giving you this very generous offer is in the interest of Global Justice. Kim Possible unapprehended poses a significant threat to national and international safety."

"So," Shego said, "let's say you managed to get a hold of Kimmie…what would you do to her?"

Dr. Director's poker face was in full force. "Well, why, does it concern you, since you claim not to know her whereabouts?"

"Just a curious question."

"We would see that she would compensate for all her wrongdoing."

Shego scoffed. "So you would send the poor kid to prison for the rest of her life for actions that she was coerced into doing? And you're willing to commit all sorts of wrongdoing to make an example of her? You disgust me. I pride myself for being a villain, but you're even worse than me."

Dr. Director pursed her lips angrily. "Well, Sheila, I can tell this approach won't work on you. Be assured that when I return, you'll find yourself a lot more amenable to reason."

With that, Dr. Director exited the interrogation room, leaving Shego basked in darkness once again.

---

Several thousand miles away, Ron was also getting interrogated. As soon as he had arrived in the contestant house, a producer had taken him aside, put him in a confessional-type room – bare except for a couch and a camera – and started asking an endless stream of questions.

"So…Rufus Stompable, right?"

Ron nodded at the mention of his creatively-conjured pseudonym.

"So, how long have you been into cooking?"

"Well, it all started back in high school, good old Mid-…Midtown High, when me and my best friend Ki…Katie took home ec together."

The producer nodded dismissively, satisfied that she had gotten her soundbyte. "Great. Now, how do you think you'll interact with the other contestants?"

"Um, what do you mean?"

The producer leaned in, "Well, we've got a great set here – a hot tub in back, plenty of champagne, lots of attractive ladies…"

Ron blinked. "Wait…so what does this have to do with cooking?"

"Are you currently single or looking for fun? You know, that's something that viewers would really love to see and would surely get you some airtime, in addition to your cooking prowess."

Ron found himself smiling, or rather grimacing, nervously. "Sure, the Ron...er…Rufus-man is totally a ladies' man." He hoped the producer would buy that and move on.

Ron racked his brain for a way to cause a distraction. Fortunately for him, Rufus filled in, poking his head out of Ron's cargo pant pocket, yawning and stretching sleepily. The producer caught one glimpse of the naked mole rat, let out a high-pitched scream, and ran for dear life.

---

Kim had had a particularly trying day. It turned out that Bonnie was in almost all of her introductory classes. Kim had spent the better part of class time hiding in the back row of every auditorium and leaving early to avoid being seen. She hadn't been spotted yet…she hoped.

When Kim arrived back at her home, she anxiously checked to see if Ron was around. She was getting a bit worried since she hadn't heard from Ron or Shego all day long, though she knew Shego was taking a short trip back to take care of some unfinished business. Kim had warned Shego not to go, but given how obstinate Shego could be…

Kim's meandering train of thoughts stopped when she realized that she had no messages from Ron on her answering machine or caller ID, no notes, a hungry Alice mewing for food and mawling Kim's leg...

Kim went over to the pantry to get Alice a fresh bowl of cat food, flipping on the television (perpetually set on BBC, apparently the only English channel in Spain that her TV picked up) on her way to the kitchen. When she finished attending to Alice, she wandered back in the living room, seeing something that made her jaw drop.

It was Ron on the screen, wearing a red-trimmed chef's uniform, entering a restaurant setting with a row of other similarly-dressed people.

"On this season of Hell's Kitchen, International Edition, we have a new batch of contestants from five different countries, three different continents," a masculine voice-over spoke, trying to sound intelligent.

The camera panned to show all the contestants, pausing slightly over each one as individual voiceovers narrated. "I'm Melissa, a McDonalds food preparatory assistant from Los Angeles. I aspire to be a model, or maybe an actress. Last week I learned how to cook French fries." "I am Won Soo Doo, from China. I win Iron Chef four times before this. I will win this competition by seasoning all my food with lots of delicious, savory MSG." "Hi, I'm Ro-..Rufus Stompable. I am…totally a ladies' man."

Kim didn't pay attention to the cooking challenge that followed (that Ron easily won, despite Won Soo 'spilling' his seasoning into Ron's dish before the angry man sampled it). She knew her cover would utterly blown as soon as someone recognized Ron. She had to get him out of there, and fast…just then, her cell phone rang.

"Kim, we have a bit of a problem."

"Hey Wade, I know the sitch, it's about Ron…"

"No, it's about Sh…hey, wait, what's the sitch with Ron?"

"He somehow got into a cooking competition! On national TV!"

"Cool, what channel?"

"BBC…do you realize what this means? Our cover is blown!"

"Um…" Wade sounded nervous over the phone. "Well, I'm sure no one in the US watches that channel anyway, or at least the European version," he said, trying to make Kim feel better. "I'll see what I can do about it."

"Please and thank you," Kim paused, "So what were calling about?"

"Um, nothing." Wade decided that Kim had had enough drama for one day. "Just get some rest; you'll need it."

"OK, thanks Wade. Hey, when are sending my new Kimmunicator and battle suit?"

"Just as soon as I can get the last few kinks worked out and perfect the tracking-disabled mode."

"Cool. Later."

When Kim hung up, Wade quickly resumed his work on Kim's new gadgets. She would be needing them sooner than anticipated.

---

As soon as Betty Director had left, Shego had easily melted away her restraints, pulled off a large vent covering in the holding room, and was well on her way out of the facility in which she was being kept. She stealthily made her way to the exterior of the large gray building, crept in the enclosed grounds, and climbed over the twenty-foot-high fence with no incident, and starting running away into the night.

"Suckers, I'm so out of this popsicle stand. This was_ too_ easy," she thought to herself, chuckling.

Inside, Betty Director watched Shego's effortless escape, arms folded calmly. "Yes, that was too easy," she smirked to herself. "And now, with the tracking chip we've planted in you, you'll lead me straight to Possible."

_A/N: I love reading reviews! Suggestions are more than welcome ). Chapter 3 is totally open at this point._


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